Wishlist for mobile games

If you're here, you've probably read the little manifeso-diatribe-rant about this game. I made some assumptions about what players with a phone in their pocket want, so let's hear it from you-- as you think about what you wish was on your phone, ready for your gaming pleasure, and currently is NOT, how would you finish this sentence: I wish I had a mobile game that __________.

I want a mobile game that doesn't turn you into the bitch of the random number god, sat at his feet and begging pathetically for the slightest scraps, while other people get better things than you've had in a year after 10 minutes.

"Now remember kids- If you don't use environmentally friendly technology, a giant technicolour inter-dimensional ghost squid will come down from space and eat everybody."

So @Kjelfalconer you're talking about random drops? Or chests of treasure? Or something else? Cuz we're planning on plenty of loot and a rarity system that's both interesting and rewarding, but there will be an intelligence to it (e.g., you'll venture out to certain places to get certain tasty drops as in MMOs).

@Wizard Yeah, that sort of thing. I've played games where everything is rng based, and it's awful. (That thinly vieled rant wasn't at anything specific or anything *cough*summoner's war*cough*) If Im better than someone, I want it to be because I've put more time in, or have more skill, not just because RNGesus hates me less.

"Now remember kids- If you don't use environmentally friendly technology, a giant technicolour inter-dimensional ghost squid will come down from space and eat everybody."

@Kjelfalconer We plan on using RNG in several aspects of the game. In terms of RNG affecting combat, we want you as the player to have some influence over the outcome of those rolls. A few of the ways we hope you'll achieve that is through the gear you've equipped your character with, the traits you've chosen for your character, and the use of abilities that will directly affect some of the RNG processes we have planned.

Interesting and fair-- have you not had a mobile game involve you for more than a month?

Not really, the only game that has had my attention for a decent time is Fallout Shelter. But that's only because I just hop on for like 2-3 minutes a few times a day.

I've played a lot of mobile games like Final Fable and things. They are fun at first, but once you get towards the mid level of the game, like level 40 out of 60. The game just turns into a tedious grind. Combat feels the exact same as it was at level 1. Just with different names and bigger numbers.

It loses its sense of adventure and fun at the point, and I just slowly play it less and less, until I realize I haven't logged in for 3-4 days or a week. Then I just uninstall it.

They call me the Crier. No, I don't cry a lot. I deliver news you uncouth barbarian.

It must have an engaging and evolving story. Good PC interactions through a combination of in game instances, forums, and chats. I also understand the need for IAP but just so long as they aren't mandatory to have fun or advance.

Doc

"Come on in stranger and have a drink....mind your boots on the floor"

@Darggie, Paragons intent is to give you an ongoing satisfaction & thrill, and we are attacking your point about getting into a grindy lull midway through with ferocious attention. In fact, the endgame systems we're working on should not only give you exciting challenges, they will give you opportunities for competition and cooperation you'll hopefully find fun. THAT SAID, the game's presentation still be simple and easy to grok. We'll be showing comps and mocks and such in the coming weeks to illustrate.

@Docgeo, you know my feelings on story, but this will be a twist on traditional storytelling. We're planning a combination of player-directed and community data-driven storytelling to keep you interested in WORLD-TO-BE-NAMED. I'll explain that in another thread as well.

When you guys are mentioning "depth," what's your definition of that term in games?

I'm not a game developer, but I'm sure It's hard to give a mobile game the same depth that a console or pc RPG might have. But I love when there are tidbits of games that players might not uncover for weeks or months. Just tons of hidden things.

Maybe it's just extra dialog unlocked if you finish an enemy with a specific move. But that dialog would add just a bit of extra backstory for an enemy or the land. Little things like that, are things that keep me in a game, and keep me replaying things.

Also, not a fan of being limited on how much I play by things like "energy" that recharges. BUT I concede that it is a mobile game, and will more then likely be a factor I'll have to live with.

They call me the Crier. No, I don't cry a lot. I deliver news you uncouth barbarian.

No energy limits in this game. The minion and the training systems will have some timers, but those will involve getting stuff and improving stuff. They won't hinder your active gameplay-- they're just intended to keep the game going all the time. You will be able to play as much as you like, as long as you like.

This game is taking a crack at being both uniquely mobile AND involving/deep/tasty. We will need your feedback on those claims as we go.

I don't actually game on mobile much because I'm almost always at a computer, which offers much better control and ulility.

That said, the games I tend to enjoy most on mobile don't involve frantically tapping a screen or making use of a digital joystick. I think the medium lends itself well to menu driven, turn based or otherwise more data/information driven games.

I wish I had a mobile game with some actual depth, but remains playable rather than frustrating with a touch interface. A real challenge to achieve. My experience designing UI for mobile apps tells me it will likely take many iterations before it will be a smooth experience. I hope you guys spend serious time on this area too, not just the game design! I'm sure it will be great.

I wish I had a mobile game with some actual depth, but remains playable rather than frustrating with a touch interface. A real challenge to achieve. My experience designing UI for mobile apps tells me it will likely take many iterations before it will be a smooth experience. I hope you guys spend serious time on this area too, not just the game design! I'm sure it will be great.

I'm glad you brought that up, because a major priority of this design is the UI, and making it seem natural in a touch interface while still giving you some thrill of gaming. Your comments about menu/information-driven are well-taken. While Paragons design is meant to put you in combat, it's also going to need to convey a decent amount of info elegantly to make you feel appropriately informed about your status, your character, and your opponent.

For depth I would expect a main story line but then side adventures that either advance your character, class, or house. House could also mean clan or guild depending on future game specifics.

Oh yes, this is the plan. Plus Seasons (which we may call Chapters or something else you lot come up with). Think ongoing Quest lines that steep you in the lore of the land along with time-based/released Quest lines that follow a dynamic created by the actions of the players.

I don't. I like to play solo, mostly because other people are the worst. Is there a solo option, can I be like a mad-rad-ronin working for the highest bidder, or do I have to commit myself to milhouse-lamehouse?

Guilds.......I like them for certain purposes. For me a guild is a social network. Let's face it a "world chat" isn't the place a few of us want to just hang out and talk but a guild chat you can do that. They are also good for bringing in new players and developing them. It makes them feel part of something especially if the guilds are themed. I do agree they can be a drain if done incorrectly. There needs to be some minor advantages in being in a guild but nothing to enormous that makes the solitary player feel he or she must join to succeed.

"Come on in stranger and have a drink....mind your boots on the floor"

I don't. I like to play solo, mostly because other people are the worst. Is there a solo option, can I be like a mad-rad-ronin working for the highest bidder, or do I have to commit myself to milhouse-lamehouse?

Not only is that a yes, Finji, @SingmeAsong has been calling one of the Houses "Ronin." It's designed to be the anti-House, if you will. Your solo dreams shall come true!

And to clarify, our House system is set to be a game system-- something that will be equal parts community and competition. It's not a typical Guild in the computer game sense of the word. We're fiddling with Guilds of a more player-controlled nature, but that would be separate.

I know it would be hard to do. But I want a Guild of scouts/informants.

Where only members of that Guild could see that you were a member, and it allowed you to join other guilds and obtain information from them, strategies, plans, ect. That can be sold to the highest bidder.

Kind of like a Thieves guild, that invades other guilds.

They call me the Crier. No, I don't cry a lot. I deliver news you uncouth barbarian.

I know it would be hard to do. But I want a Guild of scouts/informants.

Where only members of that Guild could see that you were a member, and it allowed you to join other guilds and obtain information from them, strategies, plans, ect. That can be sold to the highest bidder.

Kind of like a Thieves guild, that invades other guilds.

As much as I hate to be negative on someone else's idea, I know I would personally dislike this greatly. For me, a guild is a group of people you know you can rely on. If I had to constantly be on guard because my friendly guildy might actually be a treacherous back-stabber putting on an act just to trick info out of me, I'd probably just fly solo exclusively. If you can't trust your guild, then what's the point of a guild? (Sorry Darggie!) Then again, I tend to play solo fairly often in games, anyway.

As for what guilds mean in mobile gaming specifically, I don't have much input. I've never actually heard of a mobile game that has you interact with others in anything more than a versus match sort of way.

And for the original topic of the thread, I wish I had a mobile game that didn't feel like a chore after a while. This kind of applies to more than just mobile gaming for me, but it seems to be such a common thing now for all non-static games to have things you have to do every day, and if you don't, you either fall behind or actually suffer punishments. This requires logging in even if I don't feel like it that day, which makes the whole thing feel like something I have to do, rather than something I want to do. After a while, I start to feel like playing less and less because of all of the times I had to play when I didn't feel like playing.

Limited time only events are a bit like this for me, too. Now and again they aren't bad, but there's a game I play that has a one week event every month, and there are a number of things you can only get for that one week and never again. It means I feel like I have to play every day during that week to try to get all of the items, and it's starting to burn me out on the game itself. (Which is too bad, since I like the game otherwise!) These events also tend to deplete my in-game resources, which makes it hard to accomplish my regular goals.

-Sox

(Maybe there should be a thread for "I wish I had a mobile game that didn't _______." You know, keep all of the negativity in one place.)

Mobile games are hard to get right for me. So much can go very wrong quickly.Free to play vs paid. I am very much in favor of the pay once kind of game. Alternatively, small entry up front and a very balanced store. Totally free games tend to end up frustrating me with a very low age group that tends to play them. However, totally free has been done well. See the recent Star Wars Uprising. Surprisingly well done for a free game.

Another tricky point is content timers. You should not limit my play. I don't want to do five levels and wait and hour. That does not bring me back, that just gets deleted.

Social networking tie-ins should be avoided (aka FarmVille). No ask friends for help crap.

Moble guilds are not always user friendly. Nether is communicating in general. Not like with keyboard and mouse. Guilds should be shared focus environments, and clearly defined as such. Also, there is a lot that can be said for following a "Facebook page" model for guild communication. People are bored with forums, they want something that is not fully chat and not fully a forum.

Most of all, to me gameplay is imperative. TC was unique in experience. It took traditional ideas and brought some more depth to them. Mobile gameplay should be planned for 1-3 minute sessions, allowing for choice of both offline and online play.

I wish I had a Mobile Game that wasn't a Fremium game, that was a solid, legit game that you could play, without needing to empty you're wallet to buy turns. Buy powerups or w/e, sure. But I hate the concept of buying energy to be able to play a game. I'm a grinder and having to stop playing a game cause I ran out of energy or fight power cause it's freemium annoys me and it's why Clash of Clans is a game I despise. Save the spending money bits for buying special powers and items and quests, not for buying basic things like the ability to continue playing. If I wanted to buy playtime, I'd go to an arcade.

I don't want to watch a new player waltz in spend a hundred dollars and instantly be better than me after I spent 100 hours on the game. One shot items, powers, etc, I don't mind being able to buy, but permanent abilities that jump characters weeks or months ahead, no. A different color item for cash? Please! I like to customize.

Guilds: Absolutely! Both PC run and NPC run for skills, learning new skills, etc.

I want to be able to begin projects that can be completed while I am offline. If I am forging a chain mail coif, I want to be able to halt the progress without losing it (I set the coif and rings aside) and continue work on it later. If I set it my character to a task, I want him to continue to work even if I am not watching it, even at a decreased speed, and time off for the character to rest, but it will continue until I return or the coif is complete.